Wednesday, January 9, 2008

i tried to like it.

there's just something about the texture of certain wintry vegetables that i can barely stomach - sweet potatoes, cooked carrots, most squash - but i'm trying. see the above? gnocchi with roasted carrots and turnips. the carrots and turnips were delicious in theory, all sweet and caramelized, and i ate a lot of them. i did!
...but i couldn't finish the job.
these carrots and parsnips were originally intended for a soup i like from fresh from the vegetarian slow cooker. if it's pureed, it's not a problem.
any irresistably tasty root vegetable soup recipes out there?
p.s. - yes, those are pre-packaged gnocchi. i ought to make my own and freeze them, but i'm still getting used to this roller-derby-4-or-5-nights-a-week thing. a girl's gotta eat. and feed her husband. often at different times.

3 comments:

Liz said...

Carrot-Ginger Soup!

Carrot Ginger Soup
about 2 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 small apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 rib celery, chopped
about 2 lbs chopped carrots
1-2 inches grated ginger
large pinch thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
water or low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth, 5 - 8 cups

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, apple, and celery and saute, stirring frequently to minimize browning, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add ginger and thyme, stir and cook for about one minute, then add carrots and broth to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, simmering for at least 35 minutes and up to two hours, adding more broth or water as necessary; carrots should be very soft. Remove carrots and a bit of broth, puree, and return to pot, stirring to blend, or blend in pot with a stick blender. Season to taste. Serve with herbed labna, yogurt, or sour cream.

Herbed Labna
1 c. organic yogurt (full fat is best but I usually use lowfat and did last night)
about 1 T. dried herbs of your choice (I used Penzey's Green Goddess mix)

Cut a large square of cheesecloth (or a very clean kitchen towel) and, using a rubber band, suspend it from the rim of a reused empty yogurt tub, large tumbler or deep bowl so that it makes a deep filter that will allow liquid to drain from the yogurt. If you have a fine mesh strainer you can also line it with the cloth and place it over a deep plate or wide bowl. Spoon yogurt into the cheesecloth, cover with plastic or a lid, and refrigerate overnight. Carefully remove the rubber band, making sure not to drop the bundle into the whey, which you should discard. Scrape the cheese out of the cloth into a clean container and mix with the herbs. Let rest at room temp for an additional hour before serving in soup or on bread or crackers. Also very tasty on sandwiches or with lavender honey and pistachios instead of herbs as a dessert. This will make about 1/2 c. soft cheese which should keep for a few days.

Frisky said...

oooh, yum. i'll try it. thanks!

Anonymous said...

Cute site. This is more of a method than a recipe. A really basic, versatile soup is potato leek soup. The great thing about it is that you can use any kind of onion and any kind of root veggie really. Sweat onions of your choice in any fat- I use olive oil, but you could do butter. When they are almost translucent add salt pepper and as much garlic as you like. Then add potatoes or whatever root veggie you have cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Pour in stock to cover about an inch above the veggies. Boil until soft. Then puree the whole thing with an immersion blender. Very satisfying. If you do dairy you can add a little cream before serving. If you want to be fancy, garnish with chives. Very satisfying- and very pretty when garnished.